This invention relates to improvements to the motor stator windings and the suction tube structure for a reduced height sealed compressor.
Compressors for refrigerant are typically incorporated into a sealed housing. In a typical sealed compressor, a compressor pump unit is received at one end, and a motor drives a shaft to power the pump unit. The motor is sealed within the housing. A suction tube is mounted in the housing and communicates a refrigerant into a housing chamber which surrounds the motor. The suction pressure refrigerant entering the chamber cools the motor.
Typically, in the prior art, the entering refrigerant is at an axial location above the windings of the motor stator. Sometimes the suction gas enters the housing at a location axially aligned with the pump unit. These locations have resulted in undesirably long compressors. It is a goal of recent compressor development to reduce the height of the compressor.
One modern type compressor is a scroll compressor. In a scroll compressor, a first scroll member has a base and a generally spiral wrap extending from the base which interfits with a spiral wrap extending from the base of a second scroll member. The second scroll member is driven by the shaft to orbit relative to the first scroll member. The interfitting wraps define reduced volume compression chambers as the second scroll member orbits relative to the first.
Height reduction in a sealed compressor, and in particular a scroll compressor, presents challenges to the compressor designer. It would be desirable to have the suction tube aligned with the motor stator and in particular with the windings. However, with such an arrangement when the refrigerant is introduced through the suction tube, it is at a location which is closely adjacent to the stator windings. There may be debris, oil, or undesirable contaminants in the refrigerant which are introduced at force against the stator windings, and which may damage the stator windings. This can be undesirable. It would be desirable to increase the radial distance between the inner end of the suction tube and the radially outer location of the stator windings. However, there is little radial space in this area as the stator windings have a necessary outer diameter which has typically been relatively close to the inner diameter of the housing.
Thus, it would be desirable to incorporate changes into a sealed compressor which better facilitate the alignment of the suction tube with the stator windings.